Donations Speed Work On Debary Park

DEBARY — An outpouring of donations for the DeBary Community Park has allowed park planners to start the second phase of construction months ahead of schedule.

It means the park will be completed this spring, organizer Rob Sullivan said. Sullivan, president of the DeBary Youth Sport Association, said he is encouraged by donations and fund-raising efforts by groups and citizens, which have exceeded expectations.

The park is being built because the sports association used to practice soccer on an empty lot owned by Brandywine Enterprises Inc., housing developer, at U.S. Highway 17-92 and Highbanks Road. Sullivan said club members realized four years ago that the lot would be developed and began to raise money to build a park. A site was selected on Highbanks Road, about 1 1/ 2 miles west of U.S. 17-92.

The Brandywine lot is now being developed, and Sullivan said he is glad the park will be completed this spring. The only hitch would be if the contractors hired by the county do not complete their irrigation and seeding work. Sullivan said this work, which will cost taxpayers $90,000, will go to bid Jan. 22.

In all, $25,000 will be spent on the park by residents. More than $13,000 has been spent on equipment for the children's playground. This expense nearly exhausted the organization's funds, Sullivan said.

''After we spent all that, our till was way down, But more money kept pouring in and we're able to keep going,'' Sullivan said.

Another $9,000 has been raised in the past few weeks and will be spent on installing the playground equipment, mulching the play area, fertilizing, building tables and buying barbecue grills.

The tables will be built by Sullivan's co-workers at Florida Power & Light Co. Sullivan, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1052, said fellow workers will donate a day to build the picnic tables, which would have cost $200 each but which can be built for about $25 each.

The DeBary Civic Association has promised money for shrubs and to landscape the park, and the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post will sponsor a night of bingo Jan. 12, which is expected to raise $1,500, Sullivan said.

Other donors include the local Kiwanis organization and Wingard Land Co. Both groups pledged $2,600 to build picnic pavilions. Wingard recently purchased the Highbanks Marina and plans to develop land near the park, Sullivan said.

Current projects include a paper drive, which has netted $800. Paper can be dropped off behind the Publix supermarket in Four Townes Shopping Center.